The Party
by Trent Magnus
Summary: A group of childhood friends team up with a fiery elven princess and a crude, sticky-fingered dwarf to save a kingdom from a great dragon. Now, they just have to survive the journey there!


The Party (Era 1)

Chapter 1: All Good Adventures Must Start at an Inn

Who: Well, you will just have to read to find out, won't you? (I don't want to ruin the surprise before we even start!)

Where:The Dragon Tooth Inn, Daggerberg, Cordia

When:Mid-morning, April 6, 1024 AX (After Xanthranox)

Among the rolling green foothills in the town of Daggerberg, in the northern region of the kingdom of Cordia, nestled in the northwest corner of the Pangaean super-continent of Xanthranox, lays the Dragon Tooth Inn. Above the bar rests the inn's namesake, a genuine dragon tooth, donated generations ago by Daggerberg's most famous native son. The tooth has long been hollowed out by several generations of innkeepers looking to make a few extra coins selling the powered tooth as a spell component to passing wizards.

It is a fine spring morning as one of Daggerberg's less famous (though somewhat notorious) native sons rides into town directly to the Dragon Tooth Inn. He has a young stable boy take his mount then strides though the front door.

Trent:Gonff! #jumps up from table# You made it. I wasn't sure if my message was going to reach you. You left a pretty sketchy address. Please, come sit down.

Gonff:Thanks, don't mind if I do. #takes a seat across from Trent# Sorry about the address thing. In my line of work, staying in one place to long can be... career suicide, so to speak.

Trent:So I've heard. I still can't believe you turned your "hobby" into a career.

Gonff:#holds up his hand# Barmaid, bring me an ale. #turns to Trent# Anything for you?

Trent:No, thank you. It is still a bit early in the day for me.

Gonff:Always business before pleasure, that's the Trent I remember. As for my "hobby" I could never get serious as long as I lived here. Everybody knows everybody, plus, there is nothing worth taking. Now Castleberg, that's a whole different story. For someone as gifted as me, they were breaking down my door to sign me up.

Trent:Well, I believe the breaking down the door part. More than likely, the local Thieves Guild caught you practicing without a license, and then came to make sure they got their cut and you paid your membership dues.

Gonff:#chuckles to himself softly# Well my friend, I never could pull a fast one on you. In the long run, if I had know about all the fringe benefits being a member had, I would have signed up form the start. #barmaid sets a tall tankard of ale in front of Gonff# So, what brings you all the way back home from that fancy fighting school, what's-its-name, Da Crumb. I thought it was a four year thing? #picks up his ale and starts drinking#

Trent:It's "De Crimb", and before I get into that, there's someone I would like you to meet. #scans the room briefly, then settles his gaze on a small, thin, hooded person# Leial, come join us, please.

Leial:#gracefully crosses the room, takes a seat next to Trent, and removes her hood, revealing long, flowing red hair and point ears#

Gonff:#spews a fine mist of beer, barely able to turn his head in time to avoid hitting Trent and Leial# She is an Elf!

Trent:Shh! Yes, she is, and we don't need the whole inn to know, either. She has come seeking our help.

Gonff: Help with what, gathering nuts for the winter?

Leial:#turns to Trent# He is the reason we have wasted two weeks of prime travel time? He is nothing but a drooling, babbling buffoon!

Gonff:#realizing he still has ale dribbling down his chin from his spew attack a moment ago, he takes a quick swipe of his face with his tunic sleeve# I will have you know I am the greatest rouge this town has ever produced. My skills would be invaluable on any sort of venture.

Leial:A thief as well, this just keeps getting better and better.

Gonff:Why you...

Trent:Guys, cut it out. #turns to Leial# Gonff is my oldest friend, I trust him with my life. Even though he can be a bit boastful, he is the best at what he does.

Gonff:#sticks out his tongue at Leial# Ha-ha.

Leial:Why you...

Trent:Both of you cut it out!

Gonff: #leans back in his seat and takes a long pull from his now half empty tankard of ale# So, spill it. What's going on?

Trent:Leial, why don't you fill him in on some of the details.

Leial:As you wish Trent. #turns to Gonff# I am Princess Leial Orogotten G'thal of the Moonglow Clan. The valley that my people inhabit is being terrorized by a dragon by the name of Granamyr.

Gonff:Oh man, I can see where this is heading. Trent, I thought your old man would have been all over this.

Trent:I meant to tell you, my father passed away several weeks ago. In fact, it was the day before I sent for you.

Gonff:What! I knew he was sick, but he was such a tough old war horse. What happened?

Trent:Well, as you know, his health has been declining for quite some time. Several months ago, he could no longer get out of bed, and the physician estimated he didn't have much longer to live. So, Mother sent for me at school. A day or two before I arrived, Leial showed up looking for Trent Magnus, the Great Dragon Slayer. Well, it turned out she was looking for my great-grandfather.

Leial:My people sometimes forget how short-lived your kind are. As a child, my father often told me stories of the Great Dragon Slayer, and the dragon he slew single handed when my parents were but newly married. It did not occur to me that he would be long dead.

Trent:Well, you know how obsessed my father was. He was so excited that he managed to get out of bed for a few hours. Sadly, his renewed vigor was not to last, and it cost his health dearly. Though he was in great pain, he hung to life, determined to see me before he died. I arrived a day later. The first words out his mouth were to make me swear that I would slay Granamyr in honorable combat and restore the family honor.

Gonff:Oh man, I hope you had your fingers crossed. Castleberg got Dragon Raided a few years back. I was told those dragons where still adolescence. There is no way you could defeat a full grown adult by yourself.

Trent:Well, technically, all he said was "honorable combat" so we might have some wriggle room. Still, if he had not been dying in my arms as he spoke... #starts to get a little misty eyed#

Leial:#turns sharply to Trent# I came all this way for Trent Magnus, and Trent Magnus is who I shall return to my people with.

Gonff:Don't worry buddy, if there is one thing I am good at, it is making the best out of wriggle room. So, where is this dragon-ravaged valley? Let's get this suicide mission over with.

Leial:My home lies in the northern center of the Darkox Jungle.

Gonff:#once again spews a fine mist of ale that would have hit Trent and Leial square in the face if he had not simultaneously fallen backwards out of his chair#

Trent:#jumps up to aid his friend# Are you alright?

Gonff:#sputtering slightly# Did you say the Darkox Jungle? That has to be, like, a couple thousand miles from here!

Leial:Actually, 8,000 miles as the dragon flies. Of course, it would be folly to try to cross the Forbidden Barrier Mountains, so it is actually more like 10,000 miles.

Gonff:Are you crazy! It would take us years to get there! I thought this dragon was ripping your valley to shreds!

Leial:You humans are always in such a rush. It took me 5 years to journey here. My people are not so weak and helpless that they are utterly defenseless. We simply lack the power to deal with Granamyr permanently.

Gonff:#starts adding on his fingers# Let me see, that means we will be gone for, like, #takes a few more seconds to finish adding# 10 years! This isn't a quest, it is a career!

Trent:Calm down Gonff. Just think of it. Isn't this what we always wanted? We will get out and see the world, having all sorts of adventures as we go. I have already contacted Mort and Thorn. They are just finishing up their apprenticeships and we can pick them up along the way.

Gonff:I must be crazy to even be considering this. #polishes off the last of his ale then gives Trent a wry smile# All right, I am in, but you owe me the years dues I already paid the Castleberg Thieves Guild.

Trent:#smiles back# I will see what I can do.

Gonff:Ok, so when do we leave on this noble-and-glorious-quest-that-we-will-probably-never-return-from?

Trent:Tomorrow afternoon. I still have to help mother get the last of her personal things out of the château.

Gonff:#looking confused# Why is she moving out of the château?

Trent:That, my friend, is a long story. You might want to order another ale. And while you are at it, I might need one as well.

Next:Trent's Tale

Author's Notes (11/13/04): I would like to dedicate this first chapter to Thomas Miller, author of THE ADVENTURERS. You inspired me to just write the stories in my head, no matter if they are any good or not.


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